West Valley College allocates tennis courts for community uses. We, the Senior Tennis Group of West Valley, want to express our thanks to the West Valley-Mission College Board of Trustees and the West Valley College administration for approving a time slot allocation of tennis courts for primarily use by the community. We believe that this action is in consonance with spirit and the charter of West Valley Community College.

The allocation is for the hours of 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. daily. This allocation will include all regular college listed tennis courses and permit any community persons or groups of tennis players to have full and uncontested use of all the 16 tennis courts.

The rule will deny access to any users for commercial/revenue purposes, between the above hours. Thus any tennis teaching for fee, tennis academies, tennis camps, etc., shall have access to the courts only before or after these hours. All commercial users will also have to obtain a contract from the college for such use and be required to produce such approval upon request by the public. The college will also post the current approvals for the use of courts by "for revenue" users at both sets of tennis courts.

Don Schmidek

Monte Sereno

Starbucks, Chang's
not good for city

As a Saratoga resident for 10 years, I am passionate about my town. I live a modest life in a modest home and feel a part of a community that embraces its past and separates itself from becoming a Village of strip mall franchises that increasingly make every small town in America a cookie cutter of every other.

Our downtown is faltering; something must be done. But foot traffic for foot traffic's sake is not a way to restore it. When I read that our mayor is hopeful about a Starbucks and a P.F. Chang's bringing prosperity to Saratoga Village, I strongly believe that any increases in revenue will be traded irrevocably for whatever is left of the unique character of our town. It will be a very high price to pay that I sadly suspect many residents would consider a fair deal to avoid the few extra blocks of travel to reach the existing Starbucks at Argonaut.

At the risk of plagiarizing our beloved Willys Peck, pining about lost orchards that few of us can even imagine anymore, I fear I may someday too be struggling to explain to visitors how a Jamba Juice, an In-N-Out burger and a Wal-Mart at the corner of Highway 9 and Big Basin, albeit designed in faux Julia Morgan veneer, make Saratoga special.

Bill Grimes

Saratoga

Inaccurate reporting
in Senior Center story

Regarding your article on the Saratoga Senior Center ("Senior Center reaches out for more members," July 20): How is it your reporter can get such wrong words printed? He did speak to me but I especially took notes about my responses. He managed to get about 50 percent of the answers correct, about 40 percent were not correct but of no consequence and about the last 10 percent very wrong. Especially saying that I felt seniors are bad drivers. The comment was that seniors avoid driving in congested traffic, not that they drive badly. Such irresponsible reporting is unacceptable to me and I demand a retraction. The fact of the matter is that the poorest drivers are those under 25.

It is such poor taste to make such a statement and attribute it to another that at the very least a follow up verification of such a statement would be proper. It seems that there is more interest in creating controversy than quality reporting.

John Feemster, president

Saratoga Area Senior Coordinating Council

Tour of Saratoga gardens
a 'wonderful' experience

The three-day Saratoga Historical Foundation's first annual "Gardens of Saratoga" fundraising tour was amazingly wonderful. Personal situations kept us from helping to plan this event, though we are Saratoga Historical Foundation members. The event proceeds will help preserve Saratoga's unique past as well as provide educational and cultural programs for our community.

Ten homes were on tour. Each was special. Most people started from the Saratoga Historical Museum near the corner of Oak Street and Saratoga-Los Gatos Road.

We went first to Casa Tierra on Quito Road, which Darrell and Lauren Boyle graciously allowed people to tour. It is presently on the market for sale. High school docents guided us through this 7,000-square foot home built by two women in the 1940s from adobe brick they made themselves on site where it became headquarters for "World Youth" publications. It has been lovingly lived in since their time. The grounds were beautiful, guitarists played, an artist painted and Cooper-Garrod wine and water was offered at the end of the tour.

We'd been to Willys and Betty Peck's home many times; however, we lingered there for more than an hour in enchanted beauty, whimsy and beautiful thoughts in calligraphy painted on benches, arches, building sidings and doorframes.

At the Andres home on Peach Hill Road, we walked spacious lawns with landscaped borders to an upper pond with waterfall and koi fish. We rested for awhile by the pond and watched the gorgeous fish, frolicking pets in a pool of sparkling water. The landscaping is spectacular.

We simply want to say that future events like this will be well worth setting time apart to attend; take friends and feel renewed. Also, we believe that belonging to Saratoga Historical Foundation is a fine way to meet interesting people, know more and more about this beautiful historical area and be a part of our town. We send a big "Thank you!" to all the members, merchants and homes that made this event happen.

William and Mary L. Dutro-Hotaling

Ranfre Lane